The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 09, 2016
Filed:
Apr. 15, 2014
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
APPLIED MATERIALS, INC., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A method for processing a dielectric film on a substrate comprises: depositing a porous dielectric film on a substrate; removing the porogen; stuffing the film with a protective polymeric material; performing at least one intermediate processing step on the stuffed dielectric film; placing the film in a microwave applicator cavity and heating to a first temperature to partially burn out the polymeric material; introducing a controlled amount of a polar solvent into the porosity created by the partial burn out; applying microwave energy to heat the film to a second selected temperature below the boiling point of the solvent to clean away remaining polymeric material; and applying microwave energy to heat the film to a third temperature above the boiling point of the solvent to completely burnout the residues of polymeric material. The interaction of the polar solvent with the microwaves enhances the efficiency of the cleaning process.